Rev. Francis Joseph Atlas, Sr. Testimony - US Civil Rights Commission

Just received from a cousin is the testimony of Rev. Francis Joseph Atlas, Sr. on September 27, 1960 in front of the US Commission on Civil Rights in New Orleans, LA. This testimony was part of a voting rights case in the area. For context, please see this link.

Vice Chairman Storey: Will you please give your full name, where you live, your age, and occupation?

Mr. Atlas: I am Francis Joseph Atlas. I live in East Carroll Parish, Lake Providence, LA., and I am a farmer.

Vice Chairman Storey. How long have you been farming?

Mr. Atlas. Well, about 15 or 20 years.

Vice Chairman Storey. Have you live in the parish all of your life, or not?

Mr. Atlas. With the exception of some few years I spent in school.

Vice Chairman Storey. Some 3 or 4 years?

Mr. Atlas. That’s right.

Vice Chairman Storey. Other than that, you have lived there all of your life?

Mr. Atlas. All of my life.

Vice Chairman Storey. What education do you have?

Mr. Atlas. Well, I finished the school at the time known as the East Carroll Baptist School, and I went to Tuskegee. There I finished a trade in brick mason plaster.

Vice Chairman Storey. That is Tuskegee Institute at Tuskegee, Ala.?

Mr. Atlas. That’s right.

Vice Chairman Storey. You completed the course?

Mr. Atlas. That’s right.

Vice Chairman Storey. How long did you spend in Tuskegee Institute?

Mr. Atlas. Three years. That was the three years I was absent from Lake Providence.

Vice Chairman Storey. Do you belong to any fraternal organization, Churches? If so, what are they?

Mr. Atlas. I am a Mason; I belong to Progressive Missionary Baptist Church. I am the superintendent of that Sunday School.

Vice Chairman Storey. Do you own your own farm?

Mr. Atlas. I do.

Vice Chairman Storey. How big is it?

Mr. Atlas. Well, my own farm is 65 acres, and I am heir to 113 acres.

Vice Chairman Storey. You own automobile or truck?

Mr. Atlas. I do. Automobile.

Vice Chairman Storey. Have you ever been arrested in your life?

Mr. Atlas. No

Vice Chairman Storey. Did you ever have any military service?

Mr. Atlas. No more than just registering to go to World War II.

Vice Chairman Storey. And were not called?

Mr. Atlas. I was not.

Vice Chairman Storey. Have you ever made any attempt to register?

Mr. Atlas. I have.

Vice Chairman Storey. When was the first time, and tell us the circumstances.

Mr. Atlas. Well as near as I can recall , the first time we made and effort to register was the primary case was broken in Texas and we went before officials - what gave Negroes the right to participate in white primaries- we went to the officials of the town and questioned them about that, and they refused us.

Vice Chairman Storey. Do you remember about what year that was?

Mr. Atlas. Well, as near as I can recall, it was in 1948.

Vice Chairman Storey. Well, did they give you any reason for not letting you register?

Mr. Atlas. Well, I would consider them random.

Vice Chairman Storey. You mean not satisfactory?

Mr. Atlas. That’s right.

Vice Chairman Storey. Did you ever make any further attempt to register?

Mr. Atlas. I did.

Vice Chairman Storey. When?

Mr. Atlas. As I recall, I believe in 1950, we went to the registration office, and I applied for a registration card, and the lady gave it to me , and I filled it out as best I knew how, and she looked at it and said it was incorrect. So as I recall-

Vice Chairman Storey. In what respect; did she say?

Mr. Atlas. She did not tell me what.

Vice Chairman Storey. All right.

Mr. Atlas. So I had to leave; so I came back on another occasion; what distance that was apart, I don’t recall.

Vice Chairman Storey. Well, about how long; a year or two?

Mr. Atlas. No; it wasn’t a year; it was right around a month or maybe 2 months.

Vice Chairman Storey. What happened then?

Mr. Atlas. I filled out the card correctly, and she told me to get three electors to identify me.

Vice Chairman Storey. Did you make an effort?

Mr. Atlas. So, I made an effort. I contacted some I thought was my friends, one man I had been doing business with-

Vice Chairman Storey. White or colored?

Mr. Atlas. No colored is registered there, so I had no ground-

Vice Chairman Storey. Did they require that you get a registered voter to identify you?

Mr. Atlas. That’s right. So they told me, one told me, politics, and he didn’t want have anything to do with it. And the other on would say “ Well, the position I hold, I couldn’t have anything to do with it.

Vice Chairman Storey. But you back to see her two or three times, did you?

Mr. Atlas. I did. Two times.

Vice Chairman Storey. Did you have any trouble identifying yourself to the bank or stores or anybody else in your parish?

Mr. Atlas. Not that I can recall.

Vice Chairman Storey. Then when is the next time you went back?

Mr. Atlas. Well, I didn’t go back anymore.

Vice Chairman Storey. Didn’t go back anymore. Have you ever file a suit or made any further efforts with any other group?

Mr. Atlas. Well, I was with group that did file a suit in 19- I don’t remember the exact or what year it was.

Vice Chairman Storey. Was that the one Reverend Scott testified about?

Mr. Atlas. That’s right.

Vice Chairman Storey. You were a party to that suit?

Mr. Atlas. I was apart of that suit.

Vice Chairman Storey. Have you been back this year?

Mr. Atlas. Well, I was with the group, but I didn’t go before the registrar of voters because I had met so many of them, and they told me the results and I didn’t see where it was necessary.

Vice Chairman Storey. You say you were with the group. When was that? A group when?

Mr. Atlas. That was this last July; July 25th.

Vice Chairman Storey. July this year?

Mr. Atlas. That’s right.

Vice Chairman Storey. About how many went?

Mr. Atlas. About 21, as I recall.

Vice Chairman Storey. You found out that some of them couldn’t register?

Mr. Atlas. That’s right.

Vice Chairman Storey. Did any of them register?

Mr. Atlas. No, not a one.

Vice Chairman Storey. And when it came to your turn, you just gave up, did you?

Mr. Atlas. I didn’t feel it was necessary.

Vice Chairman Storey. Any questions from the commission? Father Hesburgh?

Commissioner Hesburgh. Mr. Atlas did you have difficulty registering for the Army?

Mr. Atlas. No; I did not.

Vice Chairman Storey. Any other question? Why do you want to vote, Mr. Atlas?

Mr. Atlas. I am a taxpayer. I want a voice in the government in which I live. I feel that is my constitutional right, and I just feel like it is my responsibility as a citizen to take whatever- if I can share it as a taxpayer and other reasons. I think I should vote.

Vice Chairman Storey. Well, thank you. Any other questions? If not, you may be excused.